Macquarie academic appeal: deadline and first steps

What to do first

Read the original decision and any correspondence about it before you draft anything. A Macquarie academic appeal is lodged through the Service Connect portal. The application needs to identify the original decision, attach a copy of any relevant correspondence, specify the ground or grounds for appeal, explain how each ground applies, and include any available evidence.

1. Find the decision and related correspondence. Keep a copy of what you have and what you submit.
2. Check the deadline that applies to your decision. For most decisions, the appeal must be lodged no later than 10 working days after the original decision has been communicated. Academic pause, exclusion and suspension sanctions allow 20 working days after the original decision has been communicated.
3. Lodge the appeal in Service Connect with the decision details, your grounds, your explanation and any available evidence.

What grounds you need to show

For most decisions, the appeal must show that the procedure was unfair on one or more set grounds. The grounds are:

• the required procedure was not followed;
• the decision was not based on the merits of the information available;
• the decision was not procedurally fair;
• new and relevant information has become available that was not able to be obtained at the time of the decision and should be taken into consideration.

The policy text we read says academic pause or exclusion appeals are excepted from that grounds list. Check the policy wording and your own decision for the grounds that apply to those appeals. For an appeal that relies on those grounds, tie each ground to what happened in your matter.

What makes a cleaner application

Use documents you already have. If evidence comes up, it must be true evidence. Do not invent, exaggerate, backdate or alter anything. Do not create new records of past events to fill gaps. Keep copies of your application and attachments.

Connect each ground to the decision you are appealing. Explain what procedure you say was not followed, what information the decision maker did not consider, how the process was not fair, or why the new information could not be obtained at the time of the decision and should be considered. The application should be clear enough for someone to see which ground you rely on and how it applies.

Student Advocacy is listed under Free help at Macquarie. You can talk to Student Advocacy about the process and what you need to provide. The pages we read do not state how long the appeal will take; confirm current timing through Service Connect or Student Advocacy.

What happens after you lodge

If the appeal cannot be resolved with the relevant Faculty or business unit, the Registrar appoints a Chair of the Appeals Panel. The Chair may request the Registrar to appoint a full Appeals Panel to determine the appeal. A decision by a Chair or an Appeals Panel is final and supersedes any earlier decision; it completes the appeal process.

If you are dissatisfied with the outcome or with how the appeal was handled, you may consult external agencies such as the NSW Ombudsman or the National Student Ombudsman. The policy says internal appeal processes should generally be exhausted first.